Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/209

Rh KEMARKABLE ASCENTS.] AERONAUTICS 191 flays previous to Blan chard s (see Monck Mason, p. 274, vhcre it is stated that he attempted to ascend in a fire- balloon on September 1 2, but that the balloon was burnt), On November 30, 1784, Blanchard again ascended, accom panied this time by Dr J. Jeffries, an American physi cian. On January 4, 1785, Mr Harper ascended from Birmingham ; and on January 7, Blanchard and Dr Jeffries achieved the feat of crossing the Channel from Dover to Calais. At seven minutes past one the balloon left Dover Castle, and in their passage they had a most magnificent view of both shores. When about one-third across they found themselves descending, and threw out every available thing from the boat or car. When about three-quarters across they were descending again, and had to throw out not only the anchor and cords, but also to strip and throw away part of their clothing, after which they found they were rising, and their last resource, viz., to cut away the car, was rendered unnecessary. As they approached the shore the balloon rose, describing a magnificent arch high over the land. They descended in the forest of Guinnes. On March 23, 1785, Count Zambeccari, who had, as we have seen, launched the first balloon from English ground, ascended for the first time with Admiral Yernon from London. Shortly afterwards he returned to Ids own country, and there applied himself assiduously to the prac tice of aerial navigation. He twice, in 1803 and 1804, descended into the Adriatic, and both times only escaped after undergoing much danger. Descending in a fire- balloon on September 21, 1812, after a voyage from Bologna, the shock of the grapnel catching in a tree caused the balloon to catch fire ; and to save themselves from being burnt, Zambeccari and his companion, Signer Bonaga, leaped from the car. The former was killed on the spot, but the latter, though fearfully injured, escaped with his life. On June 15, 1785, Pilatre de Rozier made his last fatal voyage from Boulogne. It was his intention to have repeated the exploit of Blanchard and Jeffries in the reverse direction, and have crossed from Boulogne to Eng land. For this purpose he had contrived a double balloon, which he expected would combine the advantages of both kinds a fire-balloon, 10 feet in diameter, being placed underneath a gas-balloon of 37 feet in diameter, so that by increasing or diminishing the fire in the former it might be possible to ascend or descend without waste of gas. Rozier was accompanied by M. P. A. Remain, and for rather less than half-an-hour after the aerostat ascended all seemed to be going on well, when suddenly the whole apparatus was seen in flames, and the unfortunate adven turers came to the ground from the supposed height of more than 3000 feet. Rozier was killed on the spot, and Romain only survived about ten minutes. A monument was erected on the place where they fell, which was near the sea-shore, about four miles from the starting-point. The Marquis de la Maisonfort had accompanied Rozier to Boulogne, intending to ascend with him, but M. Romain there insisted on a prior promise. Either the upper bal loon must have been reached by the flames, and the gas taken fire, or the gas must have poured down into the lower balloon, and so have caused the explosion. We must not omit to mention that on June 4, 1784, Madame Thible ascended from Lyons in a fire-balloon with M. Fleurand, in the presence of King Gustavus of Sweden, then travelling under the name of Count Haga. Madame Thible is very likely the only woman who ever ascended in a fire-balloon. The first Englishwoman who ever ascended into the air was Mrs Sage, who accompanied Mr Biggin in his voyage from London on June 29, 1785. Accounts are given of an ascent at Constantinople, made in the presence of the Sultan, by a Persian physician, accompanied by two Bostangis, early in the year 1786, who, crossing the sea which divides Europe from Asia, descended about 30 leagues from the coast. We have now given a brief account of all the noteworthy Most of 1 voyages that took place within the first two or three years subseque after the discovery of the balloon by MontgolSer. Ascents ascents were multiplied from this time onwards, and it is impos- un( i er t a ], sible to give even a list of the many hundreds that have for plea- taken place since : this omission is, however, of slight sure, am importance, as henceforth the balloon became little better of no 1 1C: than a toy, let up to amuse people at fetes or other public ^^ occasions. When the first ascents were made in France, the glow of national vanity was lighted up, and the most brilliant expectations were felt with regard to aerostation, and the glory to the nation that would accrue therefrom. These anticipations have not been realised, and the balloon at this moment has received no great improvement since the time of Charles, except the substitution of ordinary coal-gas for hydrogen, which has rendered the inflation of a balloon at any gas-works a comparatively simple matter, bearing in mind the elaborate contrivances required for the generation of hydrogen in sufficient quantities. But in one respect the balloon has been of real service, viz., to science, in rendering the attainment of observations in the higher strata of the atmosphere not only possible but practicable. In regard to such matters the balloon is unique, as the atmosphere is the great laboratory of nature, in which are produced all the phenomena of weather, the results of which we perceive on the earth; and no observa tions made on mountain-sides can take the place of those made in the balloon, as what is required is the knowledge of the state of the upper atmosphere itself, free from the disturbing effects of the contiguity of the land. Although, therefore, in what follows, we shall notice any particularly remarkable ascents, we shall chiefly confine ourselves to the few that have been undertaken for the sake of advancing science, and which alone are of permanent value. It will be necessary to make one exception to this rule, however, in the case of the parachute, the experiments with which require some notice, although they have been put to no useful purpose. The balloon has also been used in warfare as a means of observing the movements of the enemy; and the applications of it to this purpose deserve notice, although we think not so much use has been made of the balloon in this direction as might have been. The substitution of coal-gas for hydrogen is due to Mr Substkv Charles Green, the veteran aeronaut, who made several tlon f c hundred ascents, the first of which took place on July 19, ~, a, s. T 1821, the coronation day of George IV. In this ascent M F Q m ordinary coal-gas was first used; and every balloon, with very few exceptions, that has ascended since this date has been so inflated. Pall Mall was first lighted by gas in 1807, and at the end of 1814 the general lighting of London by gas commenced; so that coal-gas could not have been available for filling balloons long before it was actually used. Leaving out of consideration the ascents undertaken for Sulwequ scientific objects (very many of which were remarkable for famous the height attained or the distance traversed, and which ^ sec will be specially noticed further on), we proceed to men- | it - ul tion the most noteworthy ascents that have taken place and that have not ended fatally (these latter will be re ferred to separately). Mr Crosbie, a gentleman who was the first to ascend from Ireland (January 19, 1785), on the 19th July 1785 attempted to cross St George s Channel to England, but fell into the sea; he was saved by some vessels that came to his rescue. Lunardi also fell into the sea, about a mile and a half from the shore, after an ascent from Edinburgh in December 1785; he was rescued by a fishing-boat. Richard Maguire was the second person